Wayne Rooney: Debt crisis may force Manchester United to cash in prize asset

MANCHESTER United’s urgent push to sort out their mounting financial problems is aimed at avoiding the unthinkable: selling Wayne Rooney.

Wayne Rooney would fetch a large transfer fee for Manchester United []

Last July’s £80million sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid prevented United posting losses of close to £31m – in a year they won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final.

Unless United’s owners can reschedule their borrowings to reduce interest payments, another “marquee” player would have to be sacrificed. United now only have one such star: Rooney. A clutch of lesser players could raise the same money – say £75m – but that would rip the heart out of the side.

A leading sports administrator said: “United must significantly reschedule their debts otherwise what happened with Ronaldo is bound to happen again. That would mean selling Wayne Rooney.”